Many electrically powered rail vehicles are in existence today, from Montreal's rubber tired Metro to New York's subway, which use the common turn-out switch mechanism seen, for example, in any railroad terminal. In general, present day systems using heavy steel, four wheeled bogies with large, slow speed integral motors as the driving mechanism thereof require steering and guidance of such systems through switches which induce intense forces by the interaction of the steel flanged wheels against the steel rails or, on existing rubber tired vehicles having four wheeled bogies, by guide flanges or side rollways. Use of such mechanisms requires a large investment in infrastructure to support these great incurred steering forces safely.
Many Asian nations and Disney World are employing top of guide beam riding rubber tired vehicles, having exposed electrical conductors mounted on the sides of the beam. Consequently, the switching mechanism is massive and costly, because the guide beam is also the vehicle weight carrier.
This large investment is further complicated by the need to provide heavy sub-structures and mechanisms when directing such vehicles from one track to another for a route diversion. It is desirable, for passenger comfort, to minimize the angular displacements required for such shifts.
As disclosed in applicant's co-pending application Ser. No. 09/170,729, a guide mechanism provides an independent trolley plate system for steering and directing a transit car as it follows the guide beam. However, there is a need for a mechanism to direct vehicles from one guide beam track to another.
None of the known prior art disclose the guide beam routing system having a proportional leverage mechanism for accomplishing a simple series of equal angular deflections as set forth herein.
The present invention as delineated meets that need.